That does depend on what you call a quantum computer. D-wave isn't what most physicists think of when hearing the word quantum computer(which refers to a universal quantum computer), it is a bit more limited. However, as testing has shown, it is definitely quantum and it does what the company making it says it does. Simply speaking, it is what it is.

It isn't capable of running Shor's algorithm to crack modern cryptography, but it does do some things better than regular computers and unlike "real" quantum computers it has the advantage of actually existing in a practical implementation. I'm sure uses for it will materialize.

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For a variable Isp spacecraft running at constant power and constant acceleration, the mass ratio is linear in delta-v. Δv = ve0(MR-1). Or equivalently: Δv = vef PMF. Also, this is energy-optimal for a fixed delta-v and mass ratio.

That does depend on what you call a quantum computer. D-wave isn't what most physicists think of when hearing the word quantum computer(which refers to a universal quantum computer), it is a bit more limited. However, as testing has shown, it is definitely quantum and it does what the company making it says it does. Simply speaking, it is what it is.

It isn't capable of running Shor's algorithm to crack modern cryptography, but it does do some things better than regular computers and unlike "real" quantum computers it has the advantage of actually existing in a practical implementation. I'm sure uses for it will materialize.

It's interesting that in the first article it talks about the improvements that could be made in the existing model & it made me wonder if operators such as NASA modify it to implement such changes?

Am I right in thinking that one of the areas that its quantum nature gives it an advantage over more conventional systems is working out equations relating to aerodynamics?

No. It and any reasonable quantum computer at this stage is completely and utterly incapable of solving partial differential equations. It isn't even close to having the required memory to do these things.

What it could be used for is quantum chemistry, simulating the behavior of molecules without the slowdown associated with simulating a quantum object using a classical computer. It could also have advantages for optimization problems or for machine learning.

For a variable Isp spacecraft running at constant power and constant acceleration, the mass ratio is linear in delta-v. Δv = ve0(MR-1). Or equivalently: Δv = vef PMF. Also, this is energy-optimal for a fixed delta-v and mass ratio.

The D-Wave is an “adiabatic” computer that encodes problems into the lowest-energy state of a quantum system. The machine is best suited to solving optimization problems in which several competing criteria must be met, often called “traveling salesman” problems. The computer can test a large number of states in milliseconds to find the best—lowest-temperature—solution.

Lockheed is experimenting with the D-Wave for verification and validation of software, a task becoming prohibitively lengthy and costly as systems become more complex. It could also test adaptive, non-deterministic software that cannot be certified by other means, says Ray Johnson, chief technology officer. NASA and Google are looking into machine learning applications. Lockheed, meanwhile, has teamed with the University of Maryland to develop a different type of quantum computing platform that can be used without requiring a deep understanding of its internal workings.

“Classical computing can take us only so far,” says Johnson. “Critical systems will become so complex, problems will take too long or become too expensive to solve using even our most powerful supercomputers. We believe that the next computational revolution will stem from applied quantum science.”

Yeah I removed my post as it was a bit ignorant. Still sort of surprised to see NASA putting money into this - but if there really are difficult computational tasks in aerospace design that only these quantum machines can handle then fair enough (though I find it a stretch of my imagination...).

It's certainly encouraging to see Google on board. If anyone can find a use for this machine (i.e. make money) then they'll be the ones to do it.

SYNOPSIS: new type of super computer can perform operations on 640TBs Of Data In one billionth of a second. a laptop with this architecture could have 100 TBs of memory and more computational power than the best current supercomputers. I take back every bad thing i every said about HP.

The two aren't comparable. Apples to orangutans. The D-Wave is a computer in the sense that analog computers were computers. It does not work with logic gates or in a way remotely similar to modern digital computers.

The D-Wave is non-deterministic. This means that if you run the same program twice with the same input, you may get a different result. It's logic is inherently probabilistic.

It is not intended to be a general-purpose computer either, rather it is useful for specialized applications, the most interesting of which is machine learning. In particular deep learning/neural networks. One of the main problems there is that the computer has to solve nonconvex optimization problems, and a neural network can "get stuck" in a particular local minimum. If you implemented a neural network physically, where the neurons are represented by individual modules in the computer which are interconnected, the quantum nature of the computer allows to "tunnel" from one local minimum to the next, essentially meaning that the learning algorithm doesn't get stuck in one mode of thinking.

For now, this isn't particularily practical as the present versions of the D-Wave are very limited, but as future versions of the D-wave which are cheaper and have more qbits become available, it might end up in a lot of places.

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For a variable Isp spacecraft running at constant power and constant acceleration, the mass ratio is linear in delta-v. Δv = ve0(MR-1). Or equivalently: Δv = vef PMF. Also, this is energy-optimal for a fixed delta-v and mass ratio.

A watershed announcement" from Google regarding quantum computers is expected to be made on 8 December, according to a board member of the quantum computing firm D-Wave. Steve Jurvetson gave no other details about what Google is planning, though his comments were related to an image projecting the predicted exponential progress of quantum computing over the next few years.

Since they were first theorised by the physicist Richard Feynman in 1982, quantum computers have promised to bring about a new era of ultra-powerful computing. Google has been among the companies pioneering their development, using systems built by the Canadian firm D-Wave to explore the technology's potential for advancing artificial intelligence and machine learning.

"Stay tuned for what may be a watershed announcement from Google on Dec 8," Jurvetson wrote in a recent comment to the image he posted to Flickr more than three years ago. First spotted by Google news site 9to5Google, Jurveston's remarks come as D-Wave announced that a 1,000+ qubit quantum computer has been sold to national security research institution Los Alamos.

For the first time, NASA is inviting members of the news media to tour the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (QuAIL) located at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) facility on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. Media will hear from a panel of computer scientists involved in the emerging quantum computing effort at Ames as they speak about its importance, a variety of real-world applications being studied, and where quantum computing may take us in the future.

QuAIL supports a collaborative effort among NASA, Google and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) to explore the potential for quantum computers to tackle optimization problems that are difficult or impossible for traditional supercomputers to handle.

Panelists will include:

Rupak Biswas, director of Exploration Technology at Ames

Hartmut Neven, director of Engineering at Google, Inc.

David Bell, director of the Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science for the USRA

Following the panel briefing, media will be given a tour of the NAS facility that houses the 1,097-qubit D-Wave 2X™ quantum computer. The team extensively retrofitted the facility to provide isolation from noise and vibration, as well as the infrastructure required to cool the system to its near-absolute-zero operating temperature.

Researchers on NASA’s QuAIL team are using the system to investigate areas where quantum algorithms might someday dramatically improve the agency's ability to solve difficult optimization problems in aeronautics, Earth and space sciences, and space exploration.

While NASA researchers have given interviews about quantum computing, this is the first time news media will be permitted to take photos. Future media tour requests will be limited to specially scheduled opportunities. Interested members of the news media should contact Kimberly Williams at: kimberly.k.williams@nasa.gov before 5 p.m. (PST) on Dec. 7, for credentials.

It has been suggested that quantum computers be launched to orbit in order to reduce disturbances which cause decoherence.

I don't see how space could do anything but make QC more difficult and more expensive. The disturbances that are relevant to QC has nothing to do with gravity and can be better controlled here on earth.

It has been suggested that quantum computers be launched to orbit in order to reduce disturbances which cause decoherence.

I don't see how space could do anything but make QC more difficult and more expensive. The disturbances that are relevant to QC has nothing to do with gravity and can be better controlled here on earth.

It's just a connection between QC and space which I have encountered several people talking and writing about. I don't invest in it, I think it's getting old. But if, in a bit of sci fi, QC is gold, then there will be a race for it. If your QC is a tiny bit better in space than on Earth, then you can win. It's not about gravity but about darkness and vacuum, which however indeed is constructed in labs on Earth for today's QC prototypes. For very very large QC one might WGO of here.

It has been suggested that quantum computers be launched to orbit in order to reduce disturbances which cause decoherence.

I don't see how space could do anything but make QC more difficult and more expensive. The disturbances that are relevant to QC has nothing to do with gravity and can be better controlled here on earth.

I have to agree with ppnl, but more for the EM field and particle interactions that would be inherent in lofting such a system into space.

If gravity turns out to be a problem, on the margin, for QC, then space might really be the right place for it. But the same was believed about crystals and today, I hear, they are more perfectly produced on Earth than on the ISS.

If gravity turns out to be a problem, on the margin, for QC, then space might really be the right place for it. But the same was believed about crystals and today, I hear, they are more perfectly produced on Earth than on the ISS.

Gravity certainly isn't a problem and is simply irrelevant. Its challenging enough to get an ordinary computer to work reliably in space. Trying with a QC would be insanely difficult and silly.